Sadd hope to keep chances alive in Sharjah

Former champions Al Sadd are looking forward to present a strong match against Sharjah today to make up for the points they dropped in the previous rounds of the AFC Champions League in order to cling on to their chance of qualifying for the next round.
The Group ‘B’ match in Sharjah today is of great importance for Al Sadd, under new coach Wesam Rizik, who are keen on collecting full points.
“It’s a crucial match against a good side. We will play for victory to maintain our chances until the last minute,” Al Sadd’s interim coach Wesam Rizik, who replaced Bruno Miguel last week, said yesterday.
“We have four points and we will strive to maintain our chances to advance in the tournament. We will play to keep our hopes alive,” he said.
Al Sadd will miss defender Paulo Otavio due to suspension and midfielder Guillerme Torres due to injury. Ali Asad may return to the team after recovering from an injury. It has been another troubled season for 2011 winners Al Sadd, who only have four points to show. The 2-0 defeat to Al Faisaly of Jordan all but ensured that the Qatar side will miss the knockout stage for the third consecutive season. Al Sadd and Sharjah FC had played out a goalless draw in the first leg (Round 1) at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Uzbekistan’s Nasaf will host Jordan’s Al Faisaly in the other match of the day.
However, Sharjah will strive for full points against Al Sadd. Should the United Arab Emirates side win and Nasaf fail to collect full points in their tie against Al Faisaly, Sharjah will confirm top spot with a match to spare.
Sharjah will feel confident of their chances after the 1-1 draw with Nasaf on November 6 saw them maintain their one-point lead. The result meant the head-to-head ratio with Nasaf is in favour of Sharjah and they will be determined to not drop points against Al Sadd.
Al Duhail host Istiklol
Al Duhail will host Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol in the fifth round Group E AFC Champions League match at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha today.
This is the last opportunity for both teams to maintain their hopes of qualifying for the next round, as the top side from each group will advance to the round of 16 along with the best three second-placed teams from among the five groups.
Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr are leading Group E with 12 points, followed by Iranian club Persepolis (seven points), FC Istiklol (two points) and Al Duhail (one point).
Al Duhail, under the tutelage of Frenchman Christophe Galtier, have their task cut out against FC Istiklol. It may be recalled that Al Duhail had reached the semi-finals in the last edition of AFC Champions League in 2022.
Galtier will be counting mainly on Almoez Ali, who scored five goals against Afghanistan (four goals) and India (one goal) recently in the joint Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and 2027 Asian Cup, as well as Kenyan star Michael Olunga and Brazilian Philippe Coutinho.
During the recent international break when the Expo Stars League had taken a break, Galtier was keen to take advantage of it to correct some mistakes as his wards geared up for the FC Istiklol game.
SCHEDULE
Sharjah FC (UAE) v Al Sadd SC (QAT)
Venue: Sharjah Stadium (Sharjah)
Kick-off: 5:00pm
Al Duhail SC (QAT) v FC Istiklol (TJK)
Venue: Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium (Doha)
Kick-off: 7:00pm